septimusheapfandomcom-20200214-history
Marcia Overstrand
Marcia Overstrand is a woman who served as the ExtraOrdinary Wizard of the Castle. Obtaining the position following the death of her tutor, Alther Mella, she worked to keep the Darkenesse at bay for many years before passing the position to her apprentice, Septimus Heap. She later married the traveling merchant Milo Banda and began an investigation of some of the deeper secrets of Magyk. She is 46 as of PathFinder. Biography Age Marcia's age is less than certain, given slightly changing answers in the Ask Angies. Her birthday has been repeatedly stated as being "mid-June". It is possibly more specifically June 13th, as when presented with this date, Angie did not counterhttps://septimusheapblog.com/ask-angie-5/. According to one Ask, in which Angie seems fairly confident she has pinned the ages downIn reply to Flore, https://septimusheapblog.com/ask-angie-5/, Marcia began her apprenticeship at the age of 18, putting her at 25 when she became EOW, 35 during the events of Magyk, and 46 at the start of Pathfinder. This is consistent with another ask, making it the most reputable sourcein reply to Leyis, https://septimusheapblog.com/ask-angie-6/. Given the year in Fyre, her birthdate is likely June 13th, 11965. Early years Marcia Overstrand was born as the only child of Melchior Overstrand and Trassimma Begallin.Marcia Overstrand trading card at the Septimus Heap website She spent the majority of her childhood traveling, and did not stay in one place long enough to really make friends. Marcia Overstrand was given her opportunity to become EOW when Silas Heap, the apprentice of the serving ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Alther Mella, resigned from his position, fearful of Darke Magyk and wishing to dedicate himself more deeply to his family. Overstrand quickly proved an apt pupil, mastering many powerful areas of Magyk to the degree that she would be able to succeed Mella. When Mella was murdered as part of a coup by his former master, DomDaniel, to take back power, Overstrand suddenly found herself in the position of ExtraOrdinary Wizard.Magyk When the Supreme Custodian took over Marcia escapes from the Castle with Silas Heap, Jenna Heap, Nicko Heap and Boy 412 (Septimus Heap) because the Supreme Custodian wants Jenna dead, and sends the Hunter to track her down. Eventually Marcia uses her Magyk to escape from him. She and the others stay Aunt Zelda's house on Draggen Island. When the Supreme Custodian sends a fake message to Marcia saying that she needs to go back to the Castle, Marcia goes despite Aunt Zelda's wishes. Marcia is captured by Custodians and brought to Dungeon Number One, which contains Darke '''Vortexes that drain her '''Magykal powers, thus leaving her defenseless against her enemies. Boy 412, Nicko, and Jenna go to the Vengeance, and Boy 412 gives Marcia the Dragon Ring that he found, which restores her Magyk 'little by little. Marcia escapes and asks Boy 412 to be her apprentice.Magyk'', chapter needed specified Followed by a Darke Shadow A year after the events of '''Magyk, Marcia is being followed by a strange Darke shadow, so she starts to build the Shadow Safe to get rid of it. She later appears when Spit Fyre hatches (and, to Marcia's annoyance, identifies her as his mother). Marcia then identifies the shadow that has been tracking her and learns that her ShadowSafe contains the bones of her old enemy, the necromancer DomDaniel. His plan is to kill Marcia when she enters ShadowSafe, but he is destroyed after Septimus helps Marcia to successfully Identify him.Flyte, chapter needed specified Wizard Tower under Siege Marcia takes Septimus´s Flyte Charm away (because he won't focus on his studies) and seals it in the Manuscriptorium's Vaults with Beetle. She encounters Tertius Fume, who at first doesn't let Marcia into the Vaults, but Marcia manages to get in anyways (no one can say no to Marcia). She later goes to Billy Pot and hires him as the new Dragon Watcher, tired of Spit Fyre's lack of hygiene and his damage to the Wizard Tower. She breaks one of her heels in the process and finds out that Terry Tarsal has made shoes for Marcellus Pye. Marcia then goes to Marcellus's house and takes Septimus, Jenna and Beetle from there.Queste, chapter needed specified Later on, Tertius Fume comes to the Wizard Tower and convenes a Gathering to send Septimus on the Queste. Marcia tries to halt the eintire thing, but doesn't succeed. When Septimus escapes, Tertius puts the Tower in a state of Siege, trapping Marcia and the other Wizards inside. When DomDaniel's ghost disappears (because Spit Fyre eats his bones), Tertius gives up and frees the Wizard Tower from the Siege. Marcia then begins to worry about Septimus's whereabouts.Queste, chapter needed specified In end, Septimus manages to send a message to Marcia from the House of Foryx and she comes to rescue them with Sarah Heap, riding on Spit Fyre.Queste, chapter needed specified Marcia congratulates Septimus about his succeeding in the Queste and promotes him to the rank of Senior Apprentice. Septimus then tells her that he is going to take Jenna, Nicko, Beetle and Snorri from the Lands of Long Nights. Under Attack by Warrior Jinn During the end of Syren, Tertius Fume appears to Marcia and commands his Warrior Jinn (which came from Milo's ship) to kill her. She hastily casts a Safe Shield, '''but realizes that the '''Darke '''in the Jinn are affecting her own '''Magyk and delaying her spell. Just before ten swords would have cut her throat, Jim Knee manages to stop all of the Jinn by Freezing 'them. Marcia then tells Tertius that he is in deep trouble and informs him that she will soon be taking steps to '''Eradicate '''him. She comes to see Septimus and the others arriving at the Castle and prepares to take the Warrior Jinns' chest to the Wizard Tower's Sealed room.Syren'', chapter needed specified Accidentally Banishing Alther Mella Marcia Overstrand is awakened by the ghost of her old tutor, Alther Mella, who informs her the secret location of the Ghost of the Vaults, Tertius Fume. They both enter Dungeon Number One to find Tertius Fume. Marcia plans to '''Banish '''him forever into the '''Darke Halls '''and starts the '''Banish. However, in the process of the Banishment, Tertius manages to Merge '''with the ghost of Alther Mella, and as soon as Marcia speaks the last words of the Banishment, Alther is '''Banished '''along with Tertius Fume to the '''Darke Halls.Darke, chapter needed specified Later, as she is preparing her Apprentice, Septimus Heap, for his coming Darke week, she worries about Septimus, who decides to go into the Darke Halls to rescue Alther. She also asked the advice of the Castle Alchemist, Marcellus Pye, about Septimus going into the Darke Halls. Although Marcia still disapproves of Marcellus, it seems that Marcia is beginning to trust the Alchemist, as he had taken Septimus in the past.Darke, chapter needed specified When Beetle arrives at the Wizard Tower the next evening, Marcia learns that Merrin Meredith is conjuring up a Darke Domaine '''deep inside the Palace, much to Marcia's horror. Marcia decides to assign Beetle to the role of Emissary of the Call-Out, since Septimus is with Marcellus Pye in Snake Slipway at the time. She instructs all the Scribes to leave and all the Wizards to place a '''Cordon '''around the Palace. She later arrives at the Palace and was accompanied by Jenna, Beetle, and Hildegarde, who is a sub-Wizard, to confront and inform Sarah Heap, who is too preoccupied in preparing up the double birthday celebration for Jenna and Septimus, that there is a Cordon around the Palace and she should leave immediately. Marcia intends to evacuate the premises of the Palace but her handling of the situation sparks an argument with Sarah, which eventually leads to Sarah being trapped in the Palace. She successfully puts the Palace in '''Quarantine, a powerful form of Anti-Darke, '''and raises a '''Safety Curtain encircling the Palace to reinforce the Cordon, '''making sure that the '''Darke Domaine will never get out of the Palace.Darke, chapter needed specified PathFinder ]] Marcia has resigned the position of ExtraOrdinary Wizard in favor of her apprentice, Septimus Heap, in order to explore the Ancient Ways. She also has married Milo Banda, making her Jenna's stepmother. Characteristics Personality Marcia, though she initially appears cold and selfish, actually has a very good heart and is willing to defend the people she loves, perhaps with her life. There is no one she loves more than her apprentice, Septimus Heap, and there are moments when it seems she regards him as the son she never had. Marcia is also quite fond of Princess Jenna and of Alther Mella, the ghost of her old mentor who taught her all she knows about Magyk. Author Angie Sage implied in the Ask Angie section of her blog, The World of Septimus Heap, that Marcia has a bit of a crush on Milo Banda. In Darke and Fyre, the two seem to have developed a relationship. They are shown to have become husband and wife in PathFinder. Spit Fyre thinks that Marcia is his mother in disguise "as dragon mothers often are." This could be due to how bossy she is to both Septimus and Spit Fyre. She bickers often with Silas Heap. Marcia does not suffer fools gladly, but has little notice of the effects that she has on other people. She wonders if it is possible for her to "do scary," not realizing that many people find her very scary indeed. One of her greatest weaknesses is a tendency to rush to judgment about the actions of other people, though her caring personality allows to admit when she has made a mistake. One such example is with Milo Banda, whom she mistakenly believes to be having a romance with Hildegarde Pigeon despite having led her to believe that he is interested in her. When she learns that this was not the case, she resumes her relationship and eventually marries him. Following their marriage and resigning the position of Extra Ordinary Wizard, Marcia mellows somewhat. Physical attributes Marcia is described as a tall woman with the characteristic green eyes of the Wizards, and long dark curly hair. She wears a deep purple tunic, signifying her status as ExtraOrdinary Wizard, that is belted at the waist and holds pockets for many different charms, one of which is a platinum KeepSafe. She wears a royal purple cloak that she considers to be a tool of her Magyk. She sometimes wears a silver headband, which slips over her eyes when she runs https://septimusheapblog.com/ask-angie-4/. Around her neck is the Akhu Amulet of Hotep-Ra (usually hidden in her robes), the source of power and authority for ExtraOrdinary Wizards . She wears a pair of pointy purple python skin shoes with gold buttons made specially for her by Terry Tarsal, the shoe maker, although in Queste, the gold buttons were exchanged for jade buttons. In The Magykal Papers, it is said that if one was wearing the typical attire of an Extraordinary Wizard but was lacking the shoes, it could not be Madam Marcia Overstand. The Magykal Papers, She is said to have an aura of Magyk around her. People are fascinated as well as extremely scared of her because Marcia, though she doesn't seem to recognize it, frightens people easily. Behind the scenes *According to Angie Sage, Marcia's parents are dead. Her father's name is Melchior and mother's name is Trassima. Her mother wasn't a wizard or witch and disliked Magyk. *According to Angie Sage, in her Ask Angie Blog, Marcia's birthday is the thirteenth of June. *Her tendency to avoid getting close to people comes from a reaction to Alther and Endor's deaths, according to several replies in the Ask Angie threads. Development According to author Angie Sage, Septimus Heap was in her mind for a long time, but it was not until the character of Marcia Overstrand was developed and appeared on the scene that everything in the series came up together. The bossiness of Marcia is what inspired her to continue writing the series and she was able to develop everything in the Septimus Heap world. References Category:Female Category:ExtraOrdinary Wizards Category:ExtraOrdinary Apprentices Category:776th ExtraOrdinary Wizard